What’s happening to the hotel industry?

Hospitality isn't what it used to be.

Photo by Ph B on Unsplash

I’ve stayed six nights at five hotels in three cities over the past two weeks.

Dizzy reading it? Try doing it.

There were two nights in Toronto, one in Miami and three nights at different properties in Milwaukee, most recently Wednesday night.

Due to the nature of my job, I travel more than most. And I’ve noticed changes happening in the hotel industry. Changes I’m not pleased with. Changes that neither feel hospitable nor bring me comfort. With summer travel on the horizon, here are my observations I think you should know.

Let’s start with prices.

Sticker shock is real, and I’m not the only one who feels it. Prices throughout the industry skyrocketed last summer relative to 2021, and in a continued challenging economic environment travelers likely will feel similar inflation this year. Like most, I have no problem paying more if I’m receiving more. But hotels have scaled back. Accommodations feel as barebones as ever.

It’s like that time when airlines slashed seating space and discontinued meals but jacked up ticket prices and started charging for bags.

After booking a room, after somehow moving past its higher cost, you’ve got to wait to check-in. I’ve experienced several hotels push back check-in time to 4 p.m. And they kick you out earlier, some properties having moved up check-out from noon to 11 a.m.

Need your room serviced? Good luck. I’m more sympathetic in this regard given the challenges of the service industry and its widespread staffing issues. But I’ve been surprised to see such a shift to where housekeeping is becoming optional.

In Toronto, I was presented the choice to have my room serviced. When I opted in, the employee working the front desk instructed me to sign a form for service. The next day, housekeeping never showed. During the first of my three nights in Milwaukee, a sign met me in the elevator that made it clear housekeeping would be every other day. There, it wasn’t even optional.

Bathtubs also are disappearing. None of my five rooms over the past two weeks had a tub. Maybe it’s mostly the newer and renovated properties conserving space. But it’s noticeable. Although I rarely take the time to run a bath, it would be nice on occasion to unwind when traveling.

Not much extra!

Meanwhile, basic necessities you used to bank on being available now look like the most trifling accommodations. At the second of my three Milwaukee hotels, the soap bar looked like a play piece for one of Parker’s dolls. It was that small. The room also had no washcloths and only one dwindling roll of toilet paper.

But housekeeping came daily, although they clearly missed the sketchy stain left on my otherwise comfortable looking chaise lounge.

How do you miss this?

Generally I stay in three- and four-star hotels. Definitely not fleabags but nothing ultra fancy. Aside from rising prices, my observations are all nitpicks. I’m comfortable as sort of a minimalist. But when a series of small inconveniences pile, they can transform from an annoyance to a deal-breaker. Don’t get me started on the $28.83 “resort fee” paid in Portland of all places back in March.

It’s all made me reconsider personal travel this summer. Parker already has inquired about us taking two road trips, as well as visiting a waterpark. But if our dollar isn’t stretching as far as it once did, if we’ll be paying more for less, we might have to consider alternatives.

What’s next, hotels charging for bags?